Get a life!

When you are content to simply be yourself and don't compare or compete, everybody will respect you.
Lao Tzu

We spend our entire lives comparing ourselves to someone else. It starts when we are little. That boy is taller than I am and he can run so much faster. My friend has long straight hair, I wish I didn't have curly hair and freckles. That girl has perfect handwriting and is the teacher's pet, I wish I could be as popular as her. That boy has 10 pairs of basketball shoes and is the coach's favorite player, he never has to sit the bench.

When we start our first career, we compare ourselves in the workplace. That woman always get the best projects and I have to do the tasks that no one else wants to do. That man is paid a higher salary than I am and I've been working here longer. I wish we could have our neighbors' car. It is so fast and sleek. We are tired of living in an apartment. If only we could live in that big house on the mountain with all that land. My friend dresses with so much elegance, if only I had her style. I wish we could have as many catored parties as our neighbors do.

And then, we have kids. From the very first moment, moms and dads are comparing their kids. My child starting rolling over at two months. My child's first tooth came in at three months. Our son is so smart he started speaking at his first birthday party. What preschool do you think we should enroll our two year old? We've been reading to him since he was in his mamma's womb? We are going to test our five year old to go into the gifted program. We are certain she will be the smartest one in her class.

Our middle schooler is so popular. She is playing soccer on the competitive league. I know that the scouts are going to start watching her soon. She is also in National Honor Society Club and in voluteer organizations after school. Our son is going to make quarterback on the varsity team as a freshman I just know it...

It is in our nature to look at the lives of others, how they dress, where they live, how their children behave or don't behave. Why do we do this as a society? If we have our eyes fixed on someone else, then we don't have to reflect on who we are as individuals. My focus should be on how I can become a person of character, or pursue my goals and ambitions or how I can serve others. My talents, gifts and where I am in life will always be different than what my friend has been given. I have imperfections in one area, yet strengths in others that someone else might not have. My children are different than the kids next door. Everyone person has different personalities with different parents whose parenting styles are unique.  God wants us to embrace our differences and understand that we are all created as one of a kind for a specific purpose.

The sooner that we realize how we need have an attitude of gratitude, as my son says, for what and who we have been given, the more joy we will experience and we will stop wishing to live in someone else's shoes or wear shoes just like theirs!